Kimera: And Afterwards....
by Starvoicereason
Summary: What happened after the ending? Did Kimera really spawn a hoard of human eating monsters? Find out in this story! Well, I wasn't quite sure how I should rate/rank this thing, but I guess it's a supernatural/drama/angst/romance/torture/sex-appeal thing.
1. The Beginning

Title: Kimera: And after

Author: Starvoicereason

Series: Kimera

I don't own Kimera. I did this to keep my own brain from constantly worrying at the exceedingly cliff like ending of the series. Also, a couple of the things that happened during the show made me very… annoyed, so now I must fix it. And sooooo… Here it is….

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The Beginning or Chapter 1

"Kimera! Kimera, I'm home! Kimera? Kimera, where are you?" Osamu took in the utter silence of the house for a moment, knowing full well that he couldn't use it to tell whether or not Kimera was actually in the house. She was perfectly capable of sneaking up behind even the guard dog, without moving even a breath of air. She was fond of scaring the crap out of the dog, ... and Osamu. She seemed to find it mildly amusing to see Osamu jump two feet in the air and fall on his butt. The dog would jump too, only he would land on his feet. Then he would sit and whine at Kimera until she reassured him, before settling down to become her foot warmer. Kimera did feel sorry for the poor thing afterwards, and nearly always said she wouldn't do it again... but then a few days later, the perfect opportunity would come up and she, of course, wouldn't be able to resist... And of course the dog always forgave her. She still possessed the remarkable gift that all animals loved her, no matter what. If she had her wish, they'd running a zoo. As it was, if an animal ever wandered onto the property, it was instantly loved, petted, fed and whatever else it might need was given to it. They had a regular following of animal house friends and a huge number of outside animals too. They helped the dog guard half the time and bugged him the rest of the time. For some reason, nothing ever came to blows though. Speaking (thinking) of which, where was that dog? Osamu knew he would be where Kimera was. So, find the dog, find his wife. He moved into the living room, and set his briefcase and jacket down on the sofa before going into the kitchen. The dog was asleep under the kitchen table. As he looked around the room, the dog began to twitch and growl in it's sleep, snoring occasionally interrupting the sounds of it's dream. Osamu sighed, then caught sight of Kimera, out in the garden. She still took his breathe away, even after fifteen years of living together, fourteen of them as a married couple. Utah still had a common law marriage act in effect, and the two had found out that they were married about two months after they could call themselves man and wife. Osamu had never been happier in his life and Kimera had practically glowed. He still felt a little thrill of pride and pleasure whenever he thought of the words 'my wife' applied to Kimera. Osamu still had to pause and think _/I am the luckiest man alive/_ whenever he saw her. She was, quite simply, the most beautiful creature anywhere in the universe,... well, besides their son, that is... So, he stood there, content to watch, as his wife gently heeled in a delicate flower, then sat back on her heels and wiped her forehead, neatly smearing dirt all over her face. She leaned down, cupped the bud in her hands, and began singing to it, softly coaxing it to live in its new home and become strong and beautiful. Osamu moved towards the door to the backyard, enchanted with the scene. She looked up and smiled, absently brushing back wisps of hair that had gotten loose from the braided bun she had it in. She only wore her hair down when she was inside; it was so long it brushed the floor easily, and she had even had about a foot cut off two or three months before. 

"Osamu! I didn't hear you come home! ... how long have you been standing there?" she asked, laughter ruining her attempt at pretending to affronted. She moved into his open arms and kissed him hungrily. Though she had become more and more... human-like, she still showed flashes of the sex-crazed reproduction machine she had been when he first met her. Mentally, she had changed much, but physically, she remained much the same as she had been then. But that was of course, under the illusion of age that she had somehow cast on herself.

"So, what exactly are you brooding about, Osamu?"

"Huh? Oh, I wasn't brooding, I was reminiscing... hmm... more like thinking fondly of,... you, of course,... and of Kianu... where is he anyway?" Once again, Osamu found himself drifting into thoughts of the past.

{He looked down at the squalling child he held in his arms. He was speechless. Then the thought suddenly occurred to him.

"Oh, God, what are we going to name him?!" The lump under the covers that was Kimera struggled upright. Her mouth moved with difficulty and Osamu moved nearer in an effort to hear her. She tried a couple more times before giving up and sobbing silently, tears streaming down her sweaty face. 

"Come on now, Kimera, you can do it, I know you can!" After several moments of staring at him in astonishment, she opened her mouth, and to her surprise, the offending organ actually made a noise. It was healing from the terrible injuries it had received while she was in the lab on her home planet, and warming up after disuse. 

"Ki.... Kia..... Kia, ....nu...... Kia..nu... Kianu... Kianu....…" she looked mightily pleased with herself.

"Kianu? You want to name him Kianu? I agree. He saved our lives after all... Yes, a good name. Kianu is a very good name." Kimera lit up like a Christmas tree. More, and more, Osamu was finding that he lived for that look on her face. It made everything worthwhile. And this... his and Kimera's son! Life was perfect, even if they were desperately on the run from the rest of the world, and half the time they were starving. Well, Osamu was starving, Kimera was not. Osamu had considered teaching her to drive many times, especially when he was weak from blood loss right after a feeding. The only thing that stopped him was the strange feeling that letting her drive would be very, very, bad. He kept seeing her careening all over the road and speeding so high the speedometer broke, and then crashing the car, getting out and saying something like 'And I was just getting going, too!' He loved her, yes, but, ... he wasn't suicidal... And he'd been right to fear Kimera's driving, too, though he had only found out about a year later, when she had blackmailed him into teaching her one night after passionate lovemaking. But then, all sex was passionate with Kimera around, as he had also later figured out...}

Kimera once again interrupted his musings. "He's…" Her face took on a look of intense concentration. "Walking home from school with that girl he likes... you know the one... Fuyuko Fujimino?"

"'Immortal Winter'? Weird."

"And you are rude!" she smacked him upside the head, but lightly, because if she had truly smacked him, his brains and various other parts would have been spread out all over everything. That was not something she wanted to have to clean up. Besides, she liked him better intact.

"I hope you learned your lesson…" He just continued to looked wounded, rubbing his head and muttering 'ow' a couple more times. She sighed and couldn't help smiling as she said, "Here, let me kiss it and make it better…"

"Oh, sure. That would be... welcome. Hey... how long do you think we have until Kianu comes home?" he sounded hopeful.

"Oh, a few minutes...hmm, not long enough, sorry."

"Darn! Oh, well. Wait, a few minutes? He's not teleporting, is he?" at Kimera's look, he sighed in relief. "I know, but I had to make sure." They'd learned long ago that the government's team could somehow track the use of Kimera's, and now Kianu's, powers. Kianu, as a result, did not have much training in terms of energy manipulation... Which was just as well, seeing as he was a normal boy and he might have the urge to experiment on those he didn't like... Osamu's frozen little brain pulled itself away from it's musings, and focused back on Kianu. "He's taking her here?"

"Yes, I told you yesterday! I swear!" she threw up her hands in defeat. "Why do I bother to tell you anything? You never remember!"

"I remember your birthday!" Her eyebrow raised. Her birthday, they'd decided long ago, was the day that she truly became self aware again. 

"When have you ever remembered my birthday?"

"Um, last... no, uh,... 3 years ago... no, you had to remind me that time, um, um…"

"Stop trying, please, it's painful watching you…" She sniffed the air suddenly. "Do you smell burning? I think it's coming…" she sniffed again, "from your head!"

"Oh, very funny, very funny…" the doorbell rang. "Hey, Kianu's home... why is he ringing the doorbell?"

__

/Authors note- I have this horrible urge to erase this part and do it over, but maybe later... And I do have to add in a part that describes the changes that happened in Kianu and Kimera.../ 

A chill went over Osamu. "He shouldn't be, not yet…" her brow furrowed as she checked his location mentally. "He is, but not at the door…" she pressed herself up against Osamu suddenly, shivering. He looked down at her. "It's dark, and he's scared, and angry, and the girl's there too, and, and it's small…" She was near tears. "They found us…" her voice was small and scared, but something much different hid below the surface; she was pissed. Her son, **_her son_**, had been shoved into the trunk of a car... and someone was going to pay for it...

"We don't know that they've found us, Kimera. But," and now the rage Osamu felt, the same rage as Kimera's, could be heard. "To even touch Kianu... they are going to pay! Why don't you stay here while I see if it really is them and if they know anything, or are just fishing around…"

"Alright... but if you're not back with Kianu in a couple of seconds, I'm calling the police, or I'm going to come out there after you…" she was barely containing the whirlwind mix of emotions inside of her.

"It will be fine, honey, I swear…" he lifted her face towards him as looked her over carefully, as though memorizing her features. "I love you…" He kissed her for the last time and walked out to answer the front door. Osamu opened the door, making sure he had a pleasant statement on his face, not the snarl he wanted to display. His son! How dare they?! He managed to plaster a pleasant statement on his face, somehow, as he opened the door. He only got glimpse of a van and a station wagon, both white with no distinguishing features, and armed soldiers everywhere before the guns spoke and he found himself falling forward in slow motion. Thoughts ran through his head at hyper-speed, or so it seemed, so many of them centering on things he had yet to do. 

A couple, however, were just inane little things like, _/Don't they realize that the pure un-eventfulness of those cars practically screams 'something is up, the feds are here'?/_ _/I have to teach Kianu how to find the perfect girl, how to know when he's finally found her. How to convince a woman she's getting what she wants while doing whatever you feel like… _--(How to lie so well, even _you_ don't recognize it as one...) (All men are in denial, but only the females realize it. Don't ask me why, that's just how it is.) _And I have to finish showing Kianu the basics of quantum physics so that he can stay ahead of his physics class, and... so many things I have yet to see... I want to see my son graduate, and I want to see him win the Olympic Gold Medal he deserves, and, I want to have a daughter, a perfect, sweet, wonderful little girl, one that looks just like her mother... I want to have grandchildren, and I want to see them and play with them. I have to be here for my family! I can't die, I can't!!! I want to stay with my wife, my lovely, wonderful, amazing wife... for as long as I can..../_

The thought occurred to him, suddenly, that perhaps this wasn't that bad; now Kimera wouldn't have to see him wither away and die of old age... his thoughts drifted away into smoke, eternal blackness, leaving him with nothing but physical sensations. His heart beat one last time, then quit it's futile struggle. His body convulsed and his lungs collapsed, air whistling out of his body from many more than three holes. The feeling came and passed just as quickly, despair, an everlasting, aching sadness; he would never get to see his wife or son again. The last thing he heard was his wife's scream. 

"Osamu! Noooooooooo!!! Osamu!!!!!!!" 

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He was floating. Or he had been, when... When what? He wasn't sure anymore. It hurt to think. It hurt to do anything right now, actually. And the cold... it must be winter... no, if he opened his eyes... it would be spring, and there would be singing, and... someone.. would be just ahead, he was sure of it. He lost himself in the fantasy, leaving the body he couldn't feel, except for pain that couldn't be pinned down to any certain area, behind. But for some reason, the singer... he could never figure out who it was. He knew that if he could just see them, he would know, and everything would be ok again, but there was never anything there when he looked. Somehow, this fantasy,... somehow it would fix everything. He just had to find that person. He did it often, but for some reason, they never took him to... her... yes, it was a female, wasn't it? He liked her, more than he liked the people here. A noise came to him. It was loud and he couldn't help the whimper of pain that escaped him. ***Boom* *boom* *BOOM* **The noise went away, and now he felt a sudden surge of fear. Something... something bad always happened when the noise came and went like that... But what was it? He wasn't sure, and he didn't really want to know... Some part of him, a piece of himself that he had walled off for the time being, felt great contempt for the pitiful little child-like thing that he was allowing to inhabit his body for now. It was safer this way, the scientists couldn't get any information out of a personality that had been born the day they got a hold of it. All the being living right now knew was the lab, so that was all it was equipped for. And it was very well equipped too. The pain of being a laboratory specimen was it's life. Kianu would have gone insane and killed things or himself even by now. It was a good thing he could do this personality spawning. He'd set it so that when he was brought face to face with Kimera, the pseudo personality would be destroyed and he would once again be in control of his body. The only bad thing about this was that if Kimera died, he would have to co-exist with the personality for all time. Unless something drastic happened, that is. He could feel her presence constantly, somewhere far away, to the north. For years, the feeling of her had moved around, until ten years ago, when they had stopped where they were today. The presence of others like him, more of his kind… it had somehow grown stronger over the years. By now, it almost felt as though there were two of her up there, though the second was a little bit weaker and it felt different. Surely, it couldn't be a child. Any of Kimera's children being born would mean total annihilation for the humans on Earth… wouldn't it?

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Well, there. The first chapter. You've met nearly everyone, now. C/C is GOOD, people, good. Please tell me what you think!!!!!

--Starvoicereason

sephychanlover@yahoo.com

http://home.talkcity.com/ImaginaryPl/Starvoicereason/AIndex.html


	2. Rising Tension....

Title: Kimera: And after

Author: Starvoicereason

Series: Kimera

I don't own Kimera. I did this to keep my own brain from constantly worrying at the exceedingly cliff like ending of the series. Also, a couple of the things that happened during the show made me very… annoyed, so now I must fix it. And sooooo… Here it is….

Well, Chapter 2. We meet the rest of the players. And things are becoming stranger. And, hey! Isn't he…? Well, you'll see… This one's longer than the first…

****

Tension Builds or Chapter 2

A white building made of steel and concrete. 

"Why the hell did they have to build this thing way out here? Well, Jones? Why?" A large, roughly built man grumped back at the assistant who was always with him. 

"It was due to the sensitive nature of the materials inside, General Carr, sir," answered the assistant, a rather normal looking man, until you looked closer and realized he was gorgeous. He flipped through the clipboard he habitually carried with him. "It seems…" he paused. "Sir, they're doing experimentation in here... on living creatures, possibly... most likely on humanoids…"

"On humans?! Isn't that against the Genova Compact or some such nonsense?"

"It's Geneva, sir." 

"Are you correcting me, 1st Lieutenant Jones?" 

"Yes, sir, of course not, sir. It doesn't say humans, sir, it says humanoids. The wording is very clear. Whatever is in here is not human." 

"Hummm..." the General rumbled low in his chest. "I see..." he looked around the empty parking lot. "Where the hell is my escort?" 

"Perhaps they're already inside, sir. Do you want me to check?" 

"No, no, that's fine. Never did much care for all that nonsense anyway. And exercise is good for you! Let's go." the General set out for the building at a brisk pace. 1st Lieutenant Jones sighed and thought longing of his bed and the beautiful young man who was currently sharing it with him. Then he turned and ran to catch up with the General. 

They reached the building and entered, astonished to find the door completely abandoned. The reception area, too, was empty. 

"Jones, what the hell is going on here?!" 

"I don't know, sir… I don't know…" Jones eased the handgun he had at his side out of it's holster. " I don't know, and I don't like it, sir…" 

"Well, then…" Jones winced. He just knew the General was about to say, 'let's go find out!' But the General didn't get any farther than 'le…'; a door flew open down the hall and a man came running out, frantic. He spotted the General and Jones, and relief blossomed on his face. He careened into the opposite wall and pushed off, heading in their direction. 

__

/Hey, it's me… I had some seriously strange thoughts at this point, but I think I managed to keep the storyline fairly uncomplicated…/ 

The man skidded to a halt in front of them and gasped for breath for a few minutes. He finally managed to get out, "General…. Carr? And his… aide-de-camp…. 1st Lieutenant… Jones?" When he received a wary nod from Jones, he smiled and said, "Oh, good! We've been expecting you… come with me, sirs…" And he led the way back down the hallway. "I'm so sorry about the whole not meeting you thing, we had a minor difficulty down in the lab with the specimen. He… er, it tried to get away… or at least, it was having seizures, or something. Anyway, all the alarms went off and there were lights flashing everywhere and…" he slowed down with a sigh. "I haven't introduced myself yet, have I? I'm Brian Simon. I'm going to be showing you around the lab." 

"Ah… so you're not military? This base is civilian?" Jones asked, finding himself liking this man for some indefinable reason. It probably helped that the guy was absolutely gorgeous and obviously oblivious to the fact. His cheery disposition and great body were complimented by shoulder length blond hair and stunning blue eyes. Oh, yes, Jones definitely found him attractive… He hauled his attention back to what the other was saying. 

"Nope, we're all civilians here. The project is funded by the government and the military has exclusive access to all our results, that's all…" 

"Access to results?" 

"We have a rather unique research project going here…" he trailed off uncertainly, not quite sure how much they knew. 

"You're doing research on some kind of humanoid?" 

"Yeah, the thing that set off all the alarms earlier…. Here we are!" 

The elevator opened, revealing a vista of thousands upon thousands of machines, people in white lab coats moving from machine to machine, many of them writing notes on clipboards and then moving on to a new machine. No one took any notice of the three stepping out of the elevator, but Jones was acutely aware of the fact that he and the General definitely did not fit in here. Their green uniforms clashed with the white and stainless steel of the place. 

"Yeah, it's kind of… imposing at first, isn't it?" asked Brian. He was watching the two of them with a small smile on his face. The General cleared his throat. "Sorry, sorry,… this way, folks! On with the grand tour! In this direction, we have some machines… and in the other direction,… we have more machines… sigh … it's pretty boring in here, actually…" 

"What do you think you're doing, Brian?" The cold voice rang out over the entire area. Jones found himself looking for the speakers that surely gave that voice it's cold, impersonal tone. "Well? Do you have an excuse for yourself this time?" Brian, who been perfectly still since the first words from the stranger's mouth, turned to confront the speaker. And it was obvious he didn't like the man one little bit. The grimace on his face said it all, and added to the stiff posture, sparking eyes, and clenched fists, all painted one picture of the speaker; he was an asshole. 

"What do you want?" Hatred was plain in his voice. Jones, simply because he liked Brian, found himself disliking this man. But that was unprofessional, so he forced himself to face the other with a neutral statement on his face. He was blond, going gray, in fact, and he was tall. His gaze was hard and unfriendly. He had a pair of glasses in hand, and as they watched, he finished cleaning them and slipped them back on. "I believe I was asking you a question, Brian. Now why don't you give me an answer." The tension built until it was unbearable. Suddenly, Brian grinned and relaxed. 

"Sure. This is General Carr, and his aide, 1st Lieutenant Jones. I was giving them the grand tour." His voice lowered dangerously. "Or did you forget about the General's visit? Old age getting to you? Maybe we should get a new Director…" 

"General Carr? Ah, I see. We had a bit of a…" he paused and regarded the three of them with distaste. Jones and Brian bristled, while the General just stared back at the man. "We have to get you sterilized. Brian didn't do that, did he?" He didn't wait for their answer, just turned and walked away, still talking. "Of course he didn't. He doesn't have that much sense." There was a certain brittle disappointment to his tone. Jones glanced at his retreating back. Now what was all that about? It obviously went deeper than some little work-related snit. No, this, this was personal. Before he could speculate further, Brian interrupted him with a sigh. 

"He's right. Come on, let's… follow him." The tone now was bitter. 

Uncomfortable silence reigned as they walked down corridors, going from busy to empty to busy again. The General seemed content to just be doing something, walking behind the… Jones realized the man had never introduced himself. The General, obviously, didn't care. He was, plain and simple, a man of action. Tall, sturdily built, with wide shoulders, a thick chest, huge hands and massive arms and legs, he reminded Jones of a human tank. A human tank with piercing green eyes, a rough, craggy looking face, and short, black hair in a regulation military cut. He could blow things up with the best of them, but he was not the kind of guy you invited to a boardroom meeting, or expected to exchange small talk with you over a fancy dinner. And little details like a person's name completely escaped him. That was Jones's job. He grimaced, feeling an unaccountable urge to stay quiet; the silence was oppressive. But he worked up a little more gumption and turned to Brian, who was trudging along behind them like an errant child. 

"Brian, you, ah…" Jones was annoyed to find himself whispering. "You never introduced us to your… Director?" 

"Jay. James. His father worked on this project first, and once he died, the ice and steel statue took over." Brian was also whispering. But, obviously, he had good reason. 

A heartbeat later, Director James asked, "What are you whispering about back there?" Before the situation could escalate into another fight, General Carr broke in. 

"So, when do we get to see this specimen? I thought you people were supposed to be researching and developing new weapons down here… not playing with lab rats." Jones winced. General Carr was also much, much more than he looked. He had approximately 18 Medals of Honor, 14 of which he couldn't tell you how he got them. He also had 7 Purple Hearts, 11 Medals for going 'above and beyond the call of duty', and 21 other various awards for doing unnamed acts of heroism. And rumor said he had the President's ear. But when looking at him, it was easy to forget all of that. 

"The specimen, as you so aptly put it, is through the decontamination section." They passed a sign proclaiming, 'Decontamination Unit, Right.' 

"Good. That's what I'm here to see." A large door opened in front of them and Director Jay punched a button and spoke into the grate. 

"Four to sterilize." A scentless mist sprayed down on them, and colored lights flashed in sequence, leaving them dry by the time the process was done. The conversation resumed where it had left off. "Ah, you are here to evaluate the specimen's potential…"

"Based on the information your research has gathered, it's not all that unlikely that…" General Carr trailed off, attention caught by the wall of windows before them. He walked to stand in front of them, looking down into the room below. Director Jay followed, and raised an eyebrow questioningly. 

"That…?" General Carr shrugged. "That he could be useful…" The Director's face clouded. 

Wondering what, exactly, had caught General Carr's attention so completely, Jones moved forward, and found his own gaze to be similarly captured. The room below was like nothing Jones had ever seen before. It was a never-ending pit of white. Jones found himself falling in, felt an extreme sense of vertigo, and cried out in panic, reaching out in an attempt to find something to hold on to.

******************************************************* 

Brian was not happy. This entire day stank. First the specimen acted up, causing him to be late for the most important meeting of his life, then Director Jay showed up before Brian got a chance to talk to General Carr... alone. And now, it seemed that the General was just like his father, seeing only the potential uses for the man... Brian was so sick, and tired of hearing the being imprisoned here referred to as 'it' and 'the specimen'... Brian was pulled from his ruminations by a cry of panic. General Carr's aide, Jones, was standing at the viewing window, staring down into ... Brian refused to call it 'the specimen' again, even if it was only in his head... His ... jailing cell. Jones had a look of absolute panic on his face, and as Brian watched, he wavered on his feet. The clipboard slipped from Jones's hands and clattered to the ground, and Jones looked as though he were about to follow it. Brian realized what was happening and lunged forward desperately. He grabbed Jones's arm and hauled him away from the window, spinning Jones towards him as he did so. 

******************************************************* 

Jones suddenly felt something grip his arm, and he was jerked nearly off his feet and spun in a dizzying circle. Before he could get his bearing on things, the white pit still flashing before his eyes, he was enfolded in someone's arms. The world slowly stopped spinning and stabilized, the adjustment helped enormously by the warm body against which he was pressed. The arms holding him tight had been the only stable thing to which he could cling and he continued to do so now. He took a few deep breaths and looked up to find that Brian had been the one who pulled him away from the window and held him through the aftershocks of... whatever that had been... He suddenly realized that he hadn't moved, though he could distinctly remember ordering his legs to take a step back away from Brian's embrace. He blushed and finally took that step back, unsteadily brushing himself off and avoiding Brian's concerned gaze. 

"I... I don't know what just happened... but thank you…" He risked looking up then, and blushed again when he realized that everyone in the room, even the Director and General Carr, was watching him. He leaned down and gathered up the clipboard and it's spilled contents. General Carr looked a little concerned, and Director Jay was looking at him speculatively, as though he were some kind of strange creature he wanted to study. Jones looked away from the Director as quickly as possible, a sudden thrill of fear going down his spine. And discovered, to his mortification, that he couldn't look at Brian without blushing and stammering when he spoke. "U-um... Th-that…" Jones snapped his mouth closed before he could further embarrass himself and General Carr. 

"Are you all right Jones? You seem a bit distressed…" General Carr rumbled from beside the Director. The statement, so bland and calm, was so like the General that Jones found himself able to calm down enough to try to tell him what had happened. He wasn't really thinking about the others in the room, and at the moment he didn't really care that they were listening; the General clearly (to Jones at least) wanted an explanation of Jones's own reprehensible behavior. In truth, he was just trying to give him something to focus on; he knew perfectly well what was wrong.

"I'm fine now, sir. It's just... that room... I couldn't…" he shuddered. "It was like it was a pit, or a vacuum…" he took a deep breath. "I was falling in, sir... I, couldn't find anything to hold onto…" Jones found that he was trembling. General Carr nodded, understanding his aide's fear. They had had a horribly close call years before, and General Carr knew that his aide still had nightmares about falling, a result of the trauma he'd suffered upon waking up in a POW camp hospital after a cave-in. Jones had an aversion to white rooms, pits and being underground. General Carr also knew that Jones had stubbornly refused to acknowledge that fear and insisted on coming only because he was going. Brian suddenly spoke up. 

"Hey, don't worry about it, you're not the only one who can't stand looking at that room. A couple of the researchers couldn't take it either. We had to transfer them upstairs. We're not quite sure why, though one had an inner ear imbalance... the others were either psychological, or mystically unable to take it... So don't feel bad about it, all right?" He shot a look at the Director. "It's nothing new that we haven't seen before or anything…" Jones wasn't the only one to notice the strange gleam in the Director's eye. Brian took Jones's arm and steered him to the other side of the room, still chattering at him. He sat Jones down in a chair, looking completely miserable and seemingly unable to stop shaking. Then he hurried off to get some coffee. General Carr's gaze settled on his aide for a couple of seconds before swinging back to the Director, who, despite Brian's comment, was still giving Jones a calculating look that General Carr instinctively didn't like. 

"So, Director! Care to tell me about all of this?" He asked, effectively distracting the Director from the young man he was responsible for. He waved a hand at the disorienting room below. He instantly the Director's full and undivided attention. The Director motioned him over to the window so that he could point the room's special features out. General Carr paused to peruse the room once more before engaging the Director in conversation. A blinding white, the uniform non-color twisted perception and confused the mind. It was easy to convince himself that he'd gone blind when looking at it. Something about the room wasn't quite right, and General realized, belatedly, that the Director had just mentioned a refrigeration unit, set against the opposite wall. General Carr looked carefully before noticing the object. It was huge, and though it didn't make the room look smaller, he doubted anything could do that, it definitely took up far more space than any refrigerator he had ever seen. In fact it was big enough to hold a large man in there! He put two and two together and finally got four; this was where the specimen's was being held! And this specimen was capable of surviving, 24/7, in a refrigeration unit? What the hell was this thing, anyway? Now the room's particular attributes made sense. "Sensory deprivation? Why? Is that really necessary?" The Director paused. 

"Yes, it is." There was a longer pause, and the Director glanced in the direction Brian had gone. There was no sign of his returning, so the Director continued. "Yes, it is necessary... This creature has some phenomenal powers, General. He flies, he throws fireballs... he drinks blood. He can loose a hand and grow it back. He reads minds for all we know!" Once again, he paused and looked for Brian. He was no where to be seen, so he said, "Come with me. I want to show you something…" And he led the way down a deserted hallway. General Carr sparred Jones one last glance before he turned and followed the Director. 

******************************************************* 

Brian got to the coffee machine just as the guy in front of him finished emptying it. Grumbling, he started to make a new pot when he also discovered that they were out of coffee grounds. Having now had his opinion that this day was going to stink confirmed, he headed off to go find some more. And upon discovering that every other lounge on this floor was also out, he spent a few minutes cursing the Gods of Mondays. Now he had two options; go back and tell the absolutely freaked out, completely adorable aide there was no more coffee, or go and break into his fathers' private stash. Brian opted for the private stash. There was no way he was going to disappoint Jones; the guy was way too cute for his own good, he was in a bad way right now, and Brian kinda... liked him... He quickly banished those thoughts, then turned around and headed for his fathers' isolated office.

******************************************************* 

As General Carr and Director Jay quickly walked down the hall in silence, a strange air of furtive watchfulness descended on the two. From the way Director Jay was acting, General Carr felt that he was about to see either something highly illegal, or just something that the apparently highly moral and decent Brian wouldn't approve of. Though why he felt that it was Brian who was the more moralistic of the two, he couldn't say. He wasn't usually one of those who judged on appearances, but something about Jay just put him on edge. Some untraceable instinct told him that Jay simply wasn't to be trusted. But something also told him that there was more to Jay than he was letting on. There was a possibility that Jay, with enough prompting, would open up and become someone that could be trusted to do all that was needed to keep the country safe. And General Carr was in the business of keeping the country safe. He grimaced. There was a good reason he had come now out of all the time this place had been operative. Now, there was a good chance that the creature being held and studied here would be able to help them. He had no illusions about how eager the man would be, so he had to either talk to him and discover what he'd be willing to work for, or find out how to control him regardless of his wishes. General Carr was sincerely hoping the man would agree. He wasn't fond of manipulating and controlling people. There was a good reason he'd held onto Jones all these years, even through the aftermath of the India Mission. It was damned hard to find people truly devoted to the defense of the nation, and doubly hard to find someone who was also devoted to you. 

"Here we are," said Jay, opening the door and ushering General Carr in. 

"So, what is this all about?" He asked, looking around the secluded office. 

"I wanted you to see this." He walked over to a TV and slipped in a tape. Pressing play, he sat back to watch as the TV flickered into life. 

{*A peaceful glade, being filmed from a home video camera.* 

A laughing, happy family is sitting around a campfire. There is a wife, an older girl, and a boy and girl, and a dog. The wife laughs at something the man holding the camera says, then is distracted as the three children suddenly start giggling over the dog, who is trying to eat a piece of marshmallow that is stuck to the side of his face. Suddenly, there are huge flares of light in the sky, and the camera focuses on them. A series of meteor like objects plummet towards the earth. They strike a mountain side a good distance away. Shouting can be heard, then the camera turns. The man is talking into the camera as he holds it in front of him. 

"I don't know what that was just now, but it looked big. Maybe they were meteors. Or maybe…" He is interrupted by screams. He turns to look and the camera catches a glimpse of a horrific creature standing in the shadows of the trees. Huge tentacles shoot from it, impaling the man. Screams and gurgling noises are heard, and the picture is suddenly washed in red. The camera falls, and we see a zombie like thing fall to the ground on the right. The shadowy figure melts back and can no longer be seen.} 

The TV went to static once that scene stretched out for a few moments and showed no sign of changing. General Carr continued to watch the screen with something approaching shock on his face. The emotion was so well hidden only Jones would have been able to detect it, though. A rumble emerged from his throat before he turned to Jay, who'd been watching him the entire time. "What was that? How was that film acquired?"

"The searchers found him and his family in that clearing about a week afterwards." He shook his head. "Their bodies were completely drained of all fluids. Scavengers hadn't even touched their bodies because there was nothing to gain from eating them... Their names were Eric, Jane, Angela, Roni, and Robby Laronzine." 

General Carr paused in respect for them before saying simply, "If they're all like that…" 

"No... There were two different kinds. That was the first kind, but they were all destroyed. The one we have here... and the one that got away... they were both of the second kind. They lack the tentacles, but they gained the kinetic and seemingly 'magical' abilities I told you of earlier. Fireballs, for instance, teleportation, which may have been an ability of both types... They also were much more physically appealing. I believe that may be to make up for their lack of long range feeding apparatus; they have to actually bite their prey." 

"By 'physically appealing' you mean?" 

"They're beautiful." Jay said bluntly. "Both of them, absolutely beautiful. Beautiful enough to convince just about anyone that they're innocuous, even if that person just saw them murder another…" 

"You know this for a fact?" 

"Evidence suggests that it happened at least once all ready…" 

"I see... the two were male and female, correct?" 

"Well, one was both and the other was neither..…" General Carr raised his eyebrow. 

"Oh really? And which one are you holding here?"

"The 'it'." 

"So the breeding one is the one that's free?" 

"Yes. Unfortunately…" 

"Explain to me what happened before." 

"They came to earth, three main ringleaders, and about 5 subordinates... One was trying to kill the breeding one... that was the 'it'. One was capable of creating millions of hybrid children to take over the earth... that was the 'both'... And one... was the 1st type leader of five others. He was opposing 'It'." 

"Okay..... That's all?" 

"'Both' escaped, 'It' was captured, and the third was killed... By 'It'." The General tried to follow that, frowning as the 'It's' and 'Both's' became confused in his mind. 

Finally he just growled and snapped, "Oh, damn it all to hell!!!! What is 'it's' name?!"

"I…" Jay looked disturbed for a moment. "I have... no idea." He looked profoundly annoyed.

They both jumped as a pissed off Brian suddenly yelled, "It's Kianu! You Bastard!!!!! Both of you!!!! Good for nothing... You never even spoke to him!!! You didn't even bother to ask him 'Why?', did you??!! You didn't even bother to hear him out! Well I did! Did you ever think of the significance of his opposing the 'third' one? That he was trying to kill the 'breeding machine'?! How about the fact that they never did find his body, hmm, Father?! Just that stupid little bell that you carry with you all the time!!!!! I.... God I hate you!!! And all your kind, too!!!" Jay looked shocked. And suddenly a whole lot of things made sense to General Carr. Brian's chest heaved, and he glared at his father with pure, unadulterated hatred in his eyes. His breath came harshly, and there was silence as he worked to calm himself. He suddenly turned and snatched up a bag of coffee beans. "I originally came for this. Your aide, who's currently hyperventilating and shaking from head to toe, needs coffee." He shot another look at his father, then left, practically running to get as far away as possible.

General Carr looked back at the Director. Jay still sat at his desk, shock clearly shown on his features. He was obviously having trouble processing his son's outburst. General Carr was willing to bet that though they were usually at each others throats, Brian had never dared to say quite as much as he had this time. The General wondered what the catalyst had been. Then he shook himself and cleared his throat.

"Alright. Down to what I came for. Will…" He cast about and couldn't remember what Brian had said his name was. That was what Jones was for after all. "'It'... be willing to work with us? Or will we need to find some way to force…" Ah… now he remembered… maybe… "Kianu…?" Jay nodded numbly, not truly processing what he was saying. "Kianu…. Will we have to force him to work for us?" The scientist faltered, truly hearing what he was saying for the first time.

"Working… with you… You're thinking of using him... as a weapon?!!! I…" Jay was once again shocked speechless. "I can't believe you would... What if it... I mean... my, God, you can't be serious!!!!!!" Jay's tone was pleading, asking, begging General Carr to say that he wasn't thinking of letting the creature loose in the world. There was something more there, too, a doubt planted when Brian had spoken. The words, _'You never even spoke to him!!! You didn't even bother to ask him 'Why?', did you??!! You didn't even bother to hear him out! Well I did!_', echoed in his head, and _'opposing the 'third'… trying to kill… never did find his body… Just that stupid little bell… God I hate you!!!'_ He needed time… time to think this over, maybe… maybe even talk to his son…

"Of course I'm serious." The General seemed oblivious to the fight Jay was having with himself. "Either the creature is useful as a weapon, or he's useful as a research specimen. It's his choice. But then, it's not really a human anyway, is it?"

"I… half…" he admitted, the words wrenched out of him unwillingly.

"What?" The general suddenly snapped, cold steel and threat under his words. Jay barely suppressed his flinch.

__

/So, he finally shows his true colors, does he?/ was the strangely amused thought that went through his mind.

"He's… half human… His DNA… it's too similar to a human's to be anything else… We originally thought that maybe all life forms were so similar that we were wrong, but… there are certain… markers in his DNA… that are distinctly human. Not even apes have them. And the rest of his DNA is wildly different, with an entirely alien set of codes and patterns. There's no mistake. That… Kianu… is half human." He paused. "I think… there might be a way to get him to agree… but I still don't think that he should be allowed out under any circumstances. If I could… have some time… perhaps… I could…" he trailed off, mind working full speed as he began to attack the problem before him.

"Of course. We'll be back in a week." He stood, shook the preoccupied man's hand and left to get his aide.

******************************************************* 

Hmmmmm… Is it just me, or is this the never ending scene? Seriously, though, this one just keeps getting longer. It never ends. But don't worry! I may have actually managed it this time!!!! Or… maybe not. We'll see. Once again, **_I live for feedback_**! So give me some!!!! 'Cause I'm starting to wonder… is anyone even _reading_ this?

--Starvoicereason

sephychanlover@yahoo.com

http://home.talkcity.com/ImaginaryPl/Starvoicereason/AIndex.html


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